Cornea gift unites families

Thursday

Nov 15, 2012 at 12:26 PMNov 15, 2012 at 12:30 PM

Cynthia Grau

The Bauch and Lomb Run for Vision 5K fundraiser in Grant Park, Chicago, on Nov. 11, wasn’t a stereotypical race. In fact, it was the first time in the history of the Iowa Lions Eye Bank that a donor family met with the recipient of the donor’s gift.Rebecca Koltveit of Pontiac met the family of Ryan Otte, the young man from Wakefield, Neb., who died just short of his 22nd birthday in 2007. After his death in a tragic farm-related accident, his family chose to donate his organs and Koltveit received one of his corneas.Koltveit was asked to participate in the run by the Iowa Lions Eye Bank and when word spread, Otte’s sisters, Michelle, Christy and Kathy responded, saying that they wanted to run with her. The surgeon that oversaw the transplant, Dr. Kenneth Goins, also came along for the run.Coincidentally, Koltveit won her age group, completing the race in 28 minutes. There were a total of 263 runners. The fundraiser also gained $16,000 for the Eye Bank Association of America.Koltveit, who is currently a senior at Eureka College, was diagnosed with Acanthamoeba Keratitis when she was 16, losing vision in her right eye five years ago. Acanthamoeba Keratitis is a rare disease in which amoebae invade the cornea of the eye. It may result in permanent visual impairment or blindness. In the United States, it is nearly always associated with contact lens use, as Acanthamoeba can survive in the space between the lens and the eye. For this reason, contact lenses must be properly disinfected before wearing, and should be removed when swimming or surfing.Because of Otte’s family choosing to donate, she received his cornea, giving her the gift of sight in her right eye.The Iowa Lions Eye Bank has helped Koltveit’s and Otte’s families correspond with each other for the past five years. One of the letters Otte’s mother sent Koltveit said, “It is a comfort to know that something good came out of our son Ryan’s death. Ryan loved life and lived it fully in his short years. He brought laughter and fun, energy and enthusiasm to all he did.”The Iowa Lions Eye Bank is affiliated with the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa. It is a non-profit service organization dedicated to the restoration and preservation of sight through the recovery, processing and distribution of human ocular tissue for transplantation and research, primarily in Iowa, but also throughout the world.Koltveit ran in honor of Otte in Sunday’s race, as she has designated him as the hero in her everyday life. After her transplant at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa, she was able to continue her activities in track and field, cross country, 4-H and FFA. She has continued her passion for running at the college level, where she is a member of Eureka College’s cross country and track teams. She has participated in numerous organized 5K/10K runs, supporting a variety of life changing causes, while always attempting to honor Otte and his gift of sight to her.Koltveit’s mother, Norma, said the experience was very touching.“It was very tearful and emotional but it was a good thing for them to meet because it’s not something that happens very often. She was glad to put faces on the people she was talking to on Facebook. She considers them her sisters now. They shared stories about Ryan and things she can now do that she might not have been able to do if she hadn’t have had the transplant,” her mother said. “If she hadn’t had a donor, she would not be able to see out of her right eye and it would have changed a lot of the things she does now.”Throughout everything that’s happened in the past with the donation and the transplant, Norma Koltveit and her daughter stress that becoming an organ donor is very important. “She definitely wants everybody to think about becoming a donor because they could definitely change a person’s life. The gift of an organ is the last gift you can give someone when you leave this world. If you make the decision to be a donor, make sure your family understands your decision and that they follow through with it when the time comes,” Norma Koltveit said.If interested in becoming a donor, visit https://www.donatelifeillinois.org/.